FUNcube-1

FUNcube-1 (AO-73)
FUNcube-1 in the cleanroom
Mission typeAmateur Radio
OperatorAMSAT-UK
COSPAR ID2013-066AE Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.39444
Websitefuncube.org.uk
Mission duration10 years, 7 months and 5 days elapsed
Spacecraft properties
Bus1U CubeSat[1]
ManufacturerISIS-BV, AMSAT-NL,
AMSAT-UK
Launch mass0.98 kilograms (2.2 lb)
Power2.2 watts
Start of mission
Launch date21 November 2013 (2013-11-21)
RocketDnepr
Launch siteYasny Launch Base
ContractorISL
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude592.6 kilometers (368 Mi)
Apogee altitude678.6 kilometers (421 Mi)
Inclination97.7 Degrees
Period97.3 Minutes
 

FUNcube-1 is a complete educational single unit CubeSat satellite with the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics. It is part of a program which aims to launch more of these educational CubeSats.[1] It is the first satellite with outreach as its primary mission.

FUNcube project

Project

The FUNcube project was started in the UK by AMSAT-UK. The satellite has been developed by a team of volunteers from AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL, and was assembled at ISIS in Delft. It has been designated with OSCAR number 73 by AMSAT and is now also known as AO-73.

Mission

As part of its mission, FUNcube-1 carries a materials science experiment, from which the school students can receive telemetry data and which they can compare to the results they obtained from similar reference experiments in the classroom. This experiment resembles the Leslie's Cube experiment. One of the first schools to use FUNcube-1 in the classroom was Abbeys Primary School in Bletchley which also featured in the BBC breakfast news two days after launch.[2]

Satellite

Instruments

FUNcube-1 is equipped with a UHF to VHF linear transponder with approx 300 mW PEP output and which can be used by Radio Amateurs worldwide for SSB and CW communications during the weekends.

Specifications

Frequencies:

  • Telemetry down link 145.935 MHz 1200bd BPSK with FEC
  • Transponder Uplink 435.150 - 435.130 MHz LSB (Inverting)
  • Downlink 145.950 - 145.970 MHz USB

Maximum uplink power of 5 watts to a 7 dBi gain antenna, more power is not needed to use the transponder. Transponder is SSB/CW Inverting.

Launch

FUNcube-1 was launched at 07:10:11 UTC on 21 November 2013,[3][4][5] as part of the ISILaunch03 campaign,[6] aboard a Dnepr rocket, from Yasny Launch Base, Russia. The launch was contracted by ISL, and operated by ISC Kosmotras.

Distribution

The FUNcube distributed ground station network (DGSN) is used in which radio amateurs receive packets and send these via the internet to the central data collection server, called the data warehouse.

To enable easy reception, one of the FUNcube team members, Howard Long G6LVB, has created a USB connected receiver called the FUNcube Dongle.

See also

  • Spaceflight portal

References

  1. ^ a b FUNcube-1 mission overview
  2. ^ BBC Breakfast news item about FUNcube-1
  3. ^ "Kosmotras launch page". Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  4. ^ RSGB news announcement
  5. ^ nasaspaceflight.com report of the launch
  6. ^ ISILaunch blog

External links

  • funcube.org.uk
  • amsat-uk.org
  • amsat-nl.org
  • FUNcube Data Warehouse
  • v
  • t
  • e
Orbital launches in 2013
JanuaryFebruaryMarchApril
MayJune
  • SES-6
  • Albert Einstein ATV
  • Kosmos 2486 / Persona №2
  • Shenzhou 10
  • Resurs-P No.1
  • O3b × 4 (PFM, FM2, FM4, FM5)
  • Kosmos 2487 / Kondor № 202
  • IRIS
    • JulyAugustSeptemberOctober
    November
    December
    Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). CubeSats are smaller.
    Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).